


I Should've Stayed On The Bus

by getlostsquidward



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, I'm Sorry, Infinity War spoilers, This is pure angst, holy shit if you haven't seen the movie stay away
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-08 19:57:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14701125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/getlostsquidward/pseuds/getlostsquidward
Summary: What if Peter had listened to Tony and gone back to Earth? An AU exploration of what might have happened





	I Should've Stayed On The Bus

Peter was falling.

Thousands of miles down towards Earth, he was falling. In between frantic gasps and thinking how much he wished he was not falling, he distantly noted that the parachute seemed to be yanking him in a specific direction. Maybe Mr. Stark had programmed it to bring him back home. He didn’t know.

All he could do was wait until he was closer to the ground and go from there.

After a while, the blurry figures started to build shapes. Buildings started to become clearer, and Peter braced himself to connect himself to one. When one came close enough, he desperately attached a web to it. Peter landed on the building and ripped off his parachute, letting himself slump down onto the building’s roof. He could see the Chrysler building from here. Well, he was definitely in New York.

“I should have stayed on the bus,” he panted to himself, looking up at the sky.

 

Peter took a few minutes to regain himself, then went to pick up his backpack where he’d left it.

Pulling his phone out of his bag, he called Ned.

After a couple rings, Ned answered.

“Peter?” he asked.

“Yeah, Ned, it’s me- look, where are you?” Peter asked.

“At the museum. The field trip was kind of canceled, but they don’t want to take us back, I guess,” Ned replied. “We’re all just standing outside by the bus.”

“Okay, cool, I’m gonna meet you there,” Peter told him.

Peter webbed his way over towards the museum, then found a spot to change. Jogging the last couple of blocks, he saw that the students were all standing next to the bus, chattering animatedly.

He heards bits and pieces of conversation discussing the spaceship and grinned.

“Ned!” he called, and Ned turned towards him and waved. Peter made his way through the crowd to where Ned stood, next to MJ.

“He reappears!” Michelle said, gesturing towards Peter. “Where have you been?”

“I, uh- I had to go grab something,” Peter said quickly.

“Sure you did,” she said with a roll of her eyes,  then turned to go talk to someone else.

“Let’s talk away from here,” Peter suggested to Ned, and they moved away from the crowd. Once they were just out of earshot, Ned burst into questions.

“Dude, did you fight the aliens? Did you get to see Iron Man? Did you see the spaceship?”

“Shhh!” Peter said, looking back at the crowd to make sure no one had heard him. “Yes to all three.”

“Whoa!” Ned said, nodding his head. “That’s awesome!”

“Yeah, it was,” Peter admitted. “I was even on the spaceship for a little bit.”

“No way!” Ned burst.

Peter grinned. “Yeah! And Mr. Stark even gave me a new suit. It’s so cool!”

“Oh, man!” Ned exclaimed. “Did you stop them? I heard Iron Man is missing.”

“No, Mr. Stark sent me home,” Peter said bitterly, hanging his head. “I think he’s still on the ship.”

“That sucks,” Ned replied. “You took a while to get back.”

“Yeah, well, when Mr. Stark sent me home we were pretty far up. I basically had to fall down from the ship until I was back in the city.”

“Wow,” Ned said in wonder.

 

Peter didn’t reply. His senses were tingling. The world felt off. Something was coming.

He looked around, holding his breath, but nothing happened.

“What’s wrong?” Ned asked.

“I don’t know,” Peter replied. “Something feels weird.”

Ned looked around. “Do you think it’s more aliens?” he asked Peter.

Peter gripped his backpack, waiting. A few minutes passed. There was nothing abnormal.

“I don’t know,” Peter repeated, finally. “Do you feel anything?” he asked Ned.

Ned shook his head.

Peter sat down and watched the people around him. Nothing seemed to be out of place. He and Ned sat like that for a while, just watching. Peter’s wariness didn’t fade, and he continued to focus intently on his surroundings.

Eventually, his body grew sore from sitting in the same position, and he stood and stretched.

“Do you think Mr. Stark will be okay?” Ned asked him, joining him.

“Yeah, I… I hope so,” Peter said.

His stomach growled.

“Do you think anywhere’s open? There’s a Ben and Jerry’s not far from here,” he told Ned.

Ned shrugged. “We can go check.”

The two set off on the walk.

“Hey, look, it’s still open!” Peter pointed out. The two walked into the store to find a decently long line.

“Looks like we weren’t the only one with the idea,” Ned told Peter, who chuckled.

“Yeah, I guess not.”

Once they had made it through the line, they walked back out onto the street.

“I guess we should go back to the museum,” Peter sighed.

Ned, who was busy taking a bite from his cone, nodded in reply.

 

The museum was still untouched, and students sat around the bus on their phones. It was obvious everyone’s energy had faded and they were ready to leave now.

Peter and Ned took their spot away from the crowd again, finishing their cones and staring at the people walking by.

“I’m bored,” Ned groaned.

“Me too,” Peter agreed.

He turned to watch the crowd. This day was getting old, fast.

“Do you think they’ll let us go home soon?” Ned asked.

Out of nowhere, Peter’s senses went on red alert. He stood up and watched the crowd pass him, looking for anything, _anything._

 

All at once, the world stopped.

It was like everything had suddenly frozen in place, all at the same time.

Something was wrong.

Peter’s senses were screaming at him, overwhelming him. He could barely process what was happening; he couldn’t focus. He took in a few slow breaths, feeling as though every movement was fighting him.

Something was wrong.

He attempted to turn around to check on Ned, but his movements were coming out painfully slow, jagged and clumsy, as though he was trying to move through jello. His thoughts raced by at a pace a thousand miles faster than his body could follow.

Something was wrong. Something was so very wrong.

In as quick of an instant as it had began, the strange episode stopped. Peter was moving normally. Civilization continued at its excited pace, paying no attention to the teenage boy who stood frozen between the world’s traffic. Breathing heavily, Peter was able to reclaim himself from the panic and took a few steps back until he was out of the way.

“Peter?” Ned asked, placing a hand on Peter’s shoulder.

“N-Ned,” Peter gasped, whirling around to face him, “What was that?”

Ned shook his head, his brows furrowing in confusion. “What was what?” he replied.

Peter shook his head, numb from shock. His senses were still disturbed, and he couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness that seemed to line every nerve within him.

“Something bad’s happening,” Peter managed. “I have to- I have to call someone.”

He pulled his phone from his pocket, then painstakingly remembered he had no one he _could_ call. Mr. Stark was on that ship in the middle of space.

“Peter, you… don’t look so great,” Ned said. Peter looked up at him. Ned didn’t exactly look great either. His face had gone ashy and worn out. MJ walked over from the group, looking confused.

“Hey! Do you guys know what’s going on? No one can find Flash!”

Peter felt as though he were going to collapse. His sense had never gotten this intense before. Michelle looked at them for an answer, and Peter could only give a weak shake of his head in reply.

“Peter, are you okay?” she asked. “You look like you’re going to pass out.”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” Peter lied.

MJ started to reply, but was cut off by Peter’s phone buzzing in his hand.

It was May. Aunt May was calling him. He answered the call, trying to ignore how much his hands were trembling.

“Peter?” Aunt May breathed, almost illegible among the apparent chaos in her background. “Peter, I-”

Suddenly, May was drowned out by a strange static. Peter could hear faint screams on her end.

“W-what?” Peter stammered, pressing the phone closer to his ear. “May, I can’t hear hear you!”

There were muffled shuffling sounds, and then the noise started to fade.

“Peter, oh my god, please tell me you’re okay,” May begged, her voice much clearer. “Tell me you’re alright.”

“I-I’m fine, May! What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, people just- they started disappearing. Into thin air. I was scared that I had…” May paused for a moment, inhaling. “I was scared that you were gone,” she finished.

“May, I’m fine, don’t worry,” Peter assured her. “But what do you mean disappearing?”

“People are just vanishing. All over. Turning into dust right before your eyes,” May explained softly.

“What?” Peter asked.

“I just-...they’re s-… and-...” May was cutting in and out of the call now.

 

“May?” Peter said frantically. “May!”

On the other end, there was utter chaos. Frantic screams, loud noises that sounded like collisions, desperate yelling.

“Peter!” May was back.

“May, are you okay? Where are you?” Peter asked, panicked.

“Peter, I love y-”

With that, the phone went quiet.

“Aunt May?” Peter choked. “May!”

Nothing.

He looked at the screen. May was still connected, but her line was silent. Numbly, Peter ended the call and collapsed back onto the ground. Ned and Michelle joined him without a word. A sudden round of screaming came from the group of students next to the museum. Peter looked over, but could see nothing wrong.

“Peter?” Ned asked. Peter looked over at him, expecting Ned to say something about the phone call with May. Instead he found Ned staring at his hand in terror.

“Ned!” Peter exclaimed.

Ned’s hand seemed to be dissolving into ashes, and it was spreading quickly.

“No, no, no!” Peter panted, taking a hold of Ned’s arm. What was warm flesh immediately became nothing. Ned was gone. Just like that.

MJ was panicking, which scared Peter more than anything. “Ned!” she cried desperately, looking around for him as though he might return at her call. “Ned!”

Sobs started to wrack through Peter’s body, exhausting and painful. “Ned!” Peter called, his voice hoarse.

There was no reply.

“This can’t be happening,” he murmured aloud, tears choking his voice. MJ didn’t reply. She was breathing heavily, looking as though she was on the verge of crying.

 

_I should have stayed on the ship._

The thought was vicious, but true. If he hadn’t just left, maybe none of this would have happened. Ned and Aunt May would be safe.

Peter felt sick. His senses were screaming like he had never felt before.

His body started shaking out of control. It felt like a hot fever was spreading through him.

“MJ?” he asked weakly, a sudden terror taking over him.

“Peter!” he heard Michelle exclaim. He tried to stand, but stumbled. MJ caught him. To her horror, she realized that Peter was starting to go as well, his body slowly turning into dust.

“Peter, please don’t!” MJ gripped his shoulders, trying in vain to keep him from going.

“I don’t want to go,” Peter said thinly, clinging onto MJ. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, so soft she could barely hear him.

In an instant brief as blinking, he was gone, too.

“Peter!” she screamed, holding her shaking hand over her mouth to keep from crying.

“Peter,” she repeated, quieter.

Peter was gone.

MJ was alone.

 


End file.
